Above 1200 Sq/FT Eastern Washington Workshop

[slodat]

Four parts at once is going well. 82° single flute chamfer is working well. Need to get a multi flute though. The single flute is what I have on hand.



These small production runs are a huge learning opportunity. There are three different parts that will use the same soft jaws for OP2. You can see chatter marks on the far right part in the photo below. I centered the stock better on the vise jaws and it took care of that chatter. I should be able to face the part and it will still be usable.



This part adds thickness to the main jaw when the application calls for it.

 

[slodat]

Modern technology, Fusion 360 in this case, is simply amazing! This is a section view of a drilling and thread milling operation simulation. So damn cool!

 

[slodat]

Working on a hardware case for a product I'm developing. The idea is the technician will be able to look at the case and see if any hardware is missing. This is going to be a long print!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Cool, I'm interested to see more about the product you're developing! When you can divulge, that is. What diameter are those washers, just for scale? The dividers between each washer look really thin, interested to see how well those print as well.

 

[slodat]

Product is specialized tooling for electrical testing. Bolts are 3/4 x 2.5”. Washers are 2” diameter, I think. Stepped away from the PC.

I’m interested to see how the print turns out. I may not have room for this box in the travel case. We shall see. As I’m sure you understand, revision one of undoubtably many.

This is the top of the case. It slips over the bottom.

 

[slodat]

The current part I'm making presents some new challenges.

This is the part. It's 8" x 4" x 3". That's a big chunk of aluminum. I want it one piece, so I'm carving it out.



OP1, from a work holding perspective, is no different than other parts I've made. Stock on a set of Serrajaws, machining as much of 5 sides as possible. This is what the part looks like after OP1:



OP2 is equally similar to other parts I've made - machine off the carrier (that flat part under the part that was used to hold the part for OP1. Part is held in soft jaws that grip the part on features created in OP1:



This is the part I'm pretty excited about.. OP3 uses the same soft jaws! The part is laid on its side like this:


Viewed from the other side:


The moving jaw is simpler. It is in play for OP2. For OP3 it just pushes the part against the fixed jaw.



One of the many things I like about this is OP2 and OP3 have the same origin point:



The work coordinate origin is on the fixed vise jaw. Probe it in once, and I'm ready to run. This makes running another set of parts in the future quick to setup and get to work.

 

[Bob Heine]

Steven, that set of operations looks like a nightmare without the soft jaw you designed. With the jaw even I would be able to repeatedly make that part. Until you showed the single origin point, it looked pretty ho-hum. Impressive work sir!

 

[Finallygotit]

Steven, just as a suggestion, and not knowing how much tension or compression this part will see, you might want to add some fillet radii in those corners to strengthen the part.

 

[slodat]

I'm getting some lifting on the corners on this print. It's not ideal, but it doesn't affect the functionality. Will be looking into how to improve this.



In progress photo when I got to the shop this morning.



Finished part. As close to perfect on the top as I would hope for!



Loaded up!



I forgot I have some screws I need to add. Will do that and it should be good to go!

 

[slodat]

Steven, that set of operations looks like a nightmare without the soft jaw you designed. With the jaw even I would be able to repeatedly make that part. Until you showed the single origin point, it looked pretty ho-hum. Impressive work sir!

Thanks, Bob! As always, I appreciate being cheered on and having a venue to share my adventures in the shop!

Steven, just as a suggestion, and not knowing how much tension or compression this part will see, you might want to add some fillet radii in those corners to strengthen the part.

Dan, thank you for the suggestion! Part won't see much of either. The fillets will happen with the tool paths.. .06 radius end mill and the diameter of the end mill will do this. I originally had the fillets modeled and removed them because it's easier to do this with the tool. Also, it makes the CAM side of things easier.

 

[GeddyT]

I've had good success with AquaNet hair spray on my print bed. Sometimes it makes parts stick too well! I sray some on the area where the print will happen when the bed is cold, a lot of flashes off as the bed heats up, then I spray some more. There's a weird hole in the ozone right over my printer... That being said, hair spray or not, I would never be able to print something that big successfully, as my printer isn't enclosed (and is a POS). That's printing with ASA. I might be able to pull off something that size in PLA.

 

[slodat]

This is Overture PETG. I've printed many rolls.. guessing 30+. The only real issue is the corner lift on big parts like this. I think this issue is more thermal than adhesion. First layer goes down great. I feel like this is caused by the upper layers pulling up as they cool on the corners or something. It doesn't ruin the part as far as I'm concerned. I'll try to improve it while I make them.

 

[Andrew S]

Steven, you might try the gyroid infill, and reduce the outside shell thickness if you can stand it. I printed similar size parts recently with no issues. (same printer)

 

[slodat]

I added the flat head screws to the design and walked into a finished part when I got to the shop this morning. This is going to do the trick! Printing the clamshell top now using the gyroid fill as suggested by Andrew.

 

[SW50th]

Nice! I see room left in that to add your logo or branding.

 

[slodat]

It's starting to look like something. Getting the softjaws, toolpaths, and everything setup on this part has taken a lot of time. So far, so good. What it starts out as in the rear, after OP1 in foreground.



OP2 takes the carrier off, drills and threads the holes, and bottom side chamfer.





I’m happy with the results on the first part. Made a small (0.0005”) change that should help with the vertical wall transition finish.

I have an appointment with my Fusion 360 guru in the morning to get some pointers on 3D tool paths and how to approach OP3. I’d love to have all these made tomorrow.

 

[gte718p]

This is Overture PETG. I've printed many rolls.. guessing 30+. The only real issue is the corner lift on big parts like this. I think this issue is more thermal than adhesion. First layer goes down great. I feel like this is caused by the upper layers pulling up as they cool on the corners or something. It doesn't ruin the part as far as I'm concerned. I'll try to improve it while I make them.

Doesn’t look like you have a lot of extra room, but a brim will help with the lifting corners. I generally run 5-10 mm brim on a part that size. I have not had one lift since I started doing it.

I also use overture petg.

 

[GeddyT]

Ask your Fusion guru why Fusion doesn't allow you to model toolholders...

 

[slodat]

I use the Maritool library in Fusion for toolholders. Works great!



Some examples:

 

[slodat]

Lots and lots of chips!



Progress!

 

[GeddyT]

I use the Maritool library in Fusion for toolholders. Works great!

So do I, and that serves me well 99% of the time. It's the 1% that's a weird holder not in Mari's library that's a PITA.

 

[nicholam77]

Cool stuff!

Regarding the print warping, check this out. In fact their whole Print Quality Guide is great. I've never used PETG, but I think high temperature filaments are more prone to shrinkage and warping. If you don't need the properties of PETG, you could try PLA as a fall back.

But also... try adding a brim. And @Andrew S suggestion of less walls and gyroid infill makes sense to me. I pretty much use gyroid for everything, usually only 5-10% infill, and usually around 3x walls/perimeters. Maybe you'd need more than that if it needs to be really strong, but if you're just prototyping there's no reason to go nuts, and your prints will finish in less time.

I wish I had your modeling skills!

 

[slodat]

I tried Anchor Lube this evening. It’s a tapping lubricant that I saw on IG. Holy wow! It’s incredible!





I’ve never had a chip like that hand tapping. I made a lathe tool! It was so incredibly satisfying to make this little tool. There’s a 0.020 tall boss the size of the inner race for the race to set against. This allows a small clearance for the bearing to turn. I first saw this sort of thing in @sakurama thread.





The bearing is slowly applied to a turning workpiece in the lathe to help get it running true. It’s double ended to allow use on the side or the end of the workpiece.

I used a black metal finish I had bought some time ago. It worked okay. Not as consistent as I would like. It did the job. Fiber laser to apply a maker’s mark.

Like I said, so satisfying!





In a CXA tool holder ready to go for all the lathe work I’m starting in the morning.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job Steven. I like Anchorlube as well and love my roller bearing alignment tool for truing up small work pieces in the lathe. Mine isn't as fancy as yours though as I just used a piece of .500" key stock.

 

[slodat]

Nice job Steven. I like Anchorlube as well and love my roller bearing alignment tool for truing up small work pieces in the lathe. Mine isn't as fancy as yours though as I just used a piece of .500" key stock.

Thanks, Mike! I'm really impressed with Anchorlube! I've used Rapid Tap for many years and this stuff is way better.

The bearing tool was a fun little project. I've put it to use today, and it works great!

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks, Mike! I'm really impressed with Anchorlube! I've used Rapid Tap for many years and this stuff is way better.

The bearing tool was a fun little project. I've put it to use today, and it works great!

I still use both. Don't know if it's out of habit or frugality that I usually reach for either my sulphur based cutting oil for ferrous materials or the Relton A-9 for non-ferrous (or WD-40) but I don't use the Anchorlube all that often or as often as I thought I would, however, when I do for a specific task I have liked it. Just last night I was machining aluminum and just reached for my Spillmaster container with Relton A-9 in it and the acid brush above the lathe.

 

[slodat]

I still use both. Don't know if it's out of habit or frugality that I usually reach for either my sulphur based cutting oil for ferrous materials or the Relton A-9 for non-ferrous (or WD-40) but I don't use the Anchorlube all that often or as often as I thought I would, however, when I do for a specific task I have liked it. Just last night I was machining aluminum and just reached for my Spillmaster container with Relton A-9 in it and the acid brush above the lathe.

I use Rapid Tap as a general-purpose cutting fluid for ferrous metals on the lathe, WD-40 for aluminum on the bandsaw and lathe, and way lube when I want something a little stickier. The mills both have Fogbusters with KoolMist 77. I still remember back in my early shop days when I ran all drill bits dry and at the max speed of the drill. I burned up a lot of perfectly good drill bits. Then one day a millwright friend showed me a little bit about speeds, feeds, and cutting fluid. Everything has worked better since that day!

 

[Finallygotit]

While I really like Anchorlube, this has been my "go to" fluid for tapping and fine cutting. I just wish it was a higher viscosity.

 

[slodat]

I used the roller bearing lathe tool and it works great. I’m still dialing in the Ellis bandsaw. It’s not quite cutting square despite considerable effort. I need to give it another go when I have a few minutes. This results in not quite square cuts on the round stock.. which is why I needed the roller bearing tool.

More round stabs. A lot more. The Pacemaker is a true dream to use. And it sure makes nice looking parts.





I managed to get the DRO X axis zeroed dead on at 2”. Really speeds things up. Two passes and I’m right on the money.



It’s impressive how much the DRO overcomes the backlash in the old lathe. These round stabs have a rounded end. First time 3D surfacing with a ball mill. It works great.




The curtain behind the lathe is working out well. Definitely the right choice!

 

[GeddyT]

That's funny, I just tried 3D surfacing with a ball mill for the first time yesterday as well. Instead of progress, I left frustrated when I found out that a 6MB surfacing program doesn't fit on a 1.44MB floppy disk (or a USB drive that's emulating one). I ordered a USB to serial cable that should show up today, so now I get to learn how to drip-feed.

 

[slodat]

That's funny, I just tried 3D surfacing with a ball mill for the first time yesterday as well. Instead of progress, I left frustrated when I found out that a 6MB surfacing program doesn't fit on a 1.44MB floppy disk (or a USB drive that's emulating one). I ordered a USB to serial cable that should show up today, so now I get to learn how to drip-feed.

Saunders has some good videos on 3D toolpaths and how to optimize them. My Tree mill has the modern Centroid control, so I'm not hitting memory issues on it. The Haas TM-1 is probably older than your machine, but of the same technology era. I got the Calmotion drip feed setup for it. It's a slick setup and seems to work well. I'll transition all these parts to the Haas on my next order. I'm sure that will have some learning opportunities!

 

[zanyad]

That's funny, I just tried 3D surfacing with a ball mill for the first time yesterday as well. Instead of progress, I left frustrated when I found out that a 6MB surfacing program doesn't fit on a 1.44MB floppy disk (or a USB drive that's emulating one). I ordered a USB to serial cable that should show up today, so now I get to learn how to drip-feed.

For something like what @slodat is doing, a M97/M98 subprogram call would do wonders to cut down on program size. A sample (don't rely on the actual numbers but rather the program structure). It's for an XZ half-circle with .01" stepovers in Y:

N100 (Surfacing)
G00 X0 Y0
Z1.
G01 Z0 F100.
M97 P101
G00 Z1.
X0 Y0.01
G01 Z0 F100.
M97 P101
G00 Z1.
X0 Y0.02
G01 Z0 F100.
M97 P101
.
.
.

N101 (Surfacing subprogram)
G18 G01 X0.5 Z0 I0.25 K0
M99

 

[slodat]

I feel like I'm a long way from hand writing g code.. That's awesome! I wonder if the non-ngc Haas post uses things like this?

 

[zanyad]

I feel like I'm a long way from hand writing g code.. That's awesome! I wonder if the non-ngc Haas post uses things like this?

Eh, it's not that bad. It's how I learned. Though most mill parts I make and have made are prismatic and not organic, so obviously YMMV.

 

[ODIS]

Very Interesting! Thank you!

 

[slodat]

I got to thinking about the different cutting fluids I have in the shop. Put the band together and this is what I came up with:


I also keep a squirt bottle of Vactra Way Lube and DTE Heavy Medium, and an oil can of non-detergent 30W over by the machine tools.



These two have large rare earth magnets in the bottom and live between the lathes. Works really well.

 

[Finallygotit]

These two have large rare earth magnets in the bottom and live between the lathes. Works really well.

This is a great idea and I am for sure stealing it.

I'm always keeping an eye on the containers so that they don't vibrate off the machine.

 

[slodat]

This is a great idea and I am for sure stealing it.

I'm always keeping an eye on the containers so that they don't vibrate off the machine.

Link to the paint cups. This works really well! I've never had it spill. The magnets are kind of huge.

 

[Andrew S]

Where did you find the blue and green topped containers? Looks like a great gift for my dad.

Andrew

Edit: Thanks for the link!

 

[slodat]

Working on the next set of round stabs. Round features are turned on the Pacemaker, other end in the mill. Finally gaining some ground. I’m able to do the lathe work while the mill eats.



Getting the turning recipe dialed in. I’m really happy with the finishes.



A really cool chip!



The DRO is awesome! Holding great tolerances.


Finished parts: